This invention relates to slot loading tape cassette mechanisms.
Heretofore, in easy-to-operate simple slot-loading mechanisms, tape fast-forwarding was provided by pushing a slide-bar slidably attached to the mechanism's cassette eject push-button slide-bar, and no rewind mode was provided.
The invention provides a slot loading cassette tape mechanism comprising a main chassis; a sub-chassis hingedly connected at one end to the main chassis; a tape drive capstan; a first gear arranged to drive a tape take-up spindle; a second gear attached to a tape rewind spindle; a rotatable plate carrying an intermediate drive gear and an intermediate driven gear; a selector mechanism pivotally mounted on the main chassis and arrangeable to retract a tape-head mounted on a head plate which in turn disengages a pinch-roller from the tape and capstan; the arrangement being such that when the tape head is retracted and the pinch-roller is disengaged while the rotatable plate is in a first position in which the intermediate drive gear is engaged with the tape drive capstan and the intermediate driven gear is engaged with said first gear the tape take-up spindle is driven at increased speed to give fast-forward winding of the tape; the selector mechanism also being arrangeable not only to cause retraction of the tape-head and disengagement of the pinch-roller but also to rotate said rotatable plate at the same time into a second position such as to disengage said intermediate driven gear to free the tape take-up spindle and engage said intermediate drive gear with said second gear to rotate the tape rewind spindle and bring about rewinding of the tape.
The invention makes it possible to provide a mechanism in which, when a cassette is loaded and the selector lever is manually shifted to either side of a center position, the tape head and pinch roller become disengaged from the tape and tape drive capstan; at the same time, the intermediate drive gear engaged with the intermediate driven gear is arranged to swing as an assembly, to either engage or disengage the gear wheel arranged to drive the tape take-up spindle shaft or to disengage or engage the gear wheel fixed to the tape rewind spindle shaft; depending on which direction the selector lever is moved from its center position, to either rapidly take-up the tape in the "fast-forward" mode, or rewind the tape in the "rewind" mode of operation.